Method, System, and Computer Program Product for User Communication with Merchants Associated with Transactions

ABSTRACT

Described are a method, system, and computer program product for facilitating communication between a user of a financial account and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with the financial account. The method includes receiving transaction data representative of the at least one transaction, the transaction data comprising at least one transaction identifier. The method also includes determining the merchant associated with the at least one transaction identifier and determining at least one merchant communication mode. The method further includes transmitting merchant contact data to a user device and receiving at least one selected communication mode. The method further includes generating a merchant communication session associated with the at least one selected communication mode and, in response to receiving the at least one selected communication mode, facilitating a communicative connection for the merchant communication session between the user and the merchant through the at least one selected communication mode.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

Disclosed embodiments relate generally to a system and method forfacilitating communication between a user of a financial account and amerchant, and in preferred and non-limiting embodiments or aspects, to asystem and method for determining merchant communication modes andgenerating merchant communication sessions automatically for the user.

2. Technical Considerations

Numerous shortcomings exist in communication between users of financialaccounts (e.g., cardholders) and merchants after completing a financialtransaction. Users may, at a later time, review their financial accountactivity and discover a need to contact a merchant associated with aparticular transaction. Often, the impetus to contact merchants arisesafter the discovery of disparities between the transaction record andthe recollection of the user. For example, the user may recall agreeingto pay a lesser amount for a transaction and may want to contact themerchant to resolve the difference. Perhaps more distressing, the usermay believe the transaction to be the result of fraudulent activity andmay need to contact the merchant to gather more information orultimately stop the purchase. Whatever the motivation for contacting amerchant, a user likely does not have merchant contact information orsales records easily available. A user may need to search for receipts,invoices, or other correspondence before they can effectively reach outto a merchant.

Furthermore, when reviewing financial account records through an accountinterface provided by an issuer institution (e.g., an online bankingportal), users are faced with limited merchant information. Themerchant's operating name may not be available, and a merchant may beidentified by a different business name that a user would not recognize.Additionally, merchants are often not displayed with their contactinformation, such as emails, phone numbers, addresses, and/or the like,which further requires users to independently research and discover thatinformation. To that end, the eventual communication may require amerchant or user to share contact information or identifying informationthat they would prefer to keep private. In short, user communicationwith merchants is often characterized by frustrating, tedious, andmanual user effort.

Therefore, there is a need in the art to efficiently and automaticallydetermine merchant identity and contact information for a giventransaction. Furthermore, there is a need in the art to automaticallydetermine preferred and/or available modes of communication for a givenmerchant, provide said modes to a user for selection, and maintain theprivacy of certain information for either party involved. Moreover,there is a need in the art to facilitate a communication session betweenthe user and merchant without requiring complex user input, andthereafter tracking, grouping, and enriching one or more communicationsessions for review by the user and/or merchant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, and generally, provided is a system andcomputer-implemented method for facilitating communication between auser of a financial account and a merchant associated with at least onetransaction with the financial account. Preferably, provided is a systemand computer-implemented method for facilitating communication between auser and a merchant by receiving a transaction identifier, determiningthe merchant associated with the at least one transaction identifier,and determining at least one merchant communication mode associated withthe merchant. Preferably, the system and computer-implemented methodinclude transmitting merchant contact data to a user device of the user,receiving at least one selected communication mode, and generating amerchant communication session associated with the at least one selectedcommunication mode. Preferably, the system and computer-implementedmethod include, in response to receiving the at least one selectedcommunication mode, facilitating a communicative connection for themerchant communication session.

According to one preferred and non-limiting embodiment or aspect,provided is a computer-implemented method for facilitating communicationbetween a user of a financial account and a merchant associated with atleast one transaction with the financial account. The method includesreceiving, with at least one processor, transaction data representativeof the at least one transaction between the financial account and themerchant. The transaction data includes at least one transactionidentifier. The method also includes determining, with at least oneprocessor, the merchant associated with the at least one transactionidentifier. The method further includes determining, with at least oneprocessor, at least one merchant communication mode associated with themerchant. The at least one merchant communication mode includes at leastone of the following: a text-based communication mode, an image-basedcommunication mode, an audio-based communication mode, a video-basedcommunication mode, or any combination thereof. The method furtherincludes transmitting, with at least one processor, merchant contactdata to a user device of the user. The merchant contact data isconfigured to generate or cause the generation of at least one visualrepresentation of the at least one merchant communication mode on theuser device. The method further includes receiving, with at least oneprocessor, at least one selected communication mode of the at least onemerchant communication mode. The method further includes, in response toreceiving the at least one selected communication mode, generating, withat least one processor, a communicative connection of a merchantcommunication session between the user and the merchant through the atleast one selected communication mode. The merchant communicationsession includes at least one of the following: text communication data,image communication data, audio communication data, video communicationdata, or any combination thereof, associated with the at least oneselected communication mode.

In further preferred and non-limiting embodiments or aspects, thecomputer-implemented method may include associating, with at least oneprocessor, a plurality of merchant communication sessions with the atleast one transaction identifier. The method may also includegenerating, with at least one processor, a dispute resolution record inat least one database. The dispute resolution record may include atleast a portion of the transaction data and the plurality of merchantcommunication sessions between the user and the merchant associated withthe at least one transaction identifier. The method may further includetransmitting, with at least one processor, a list of the plurality ofmerchant communication sessions and at least a portion of thetransaction data to at least one of the user, the merchant, and anissuer institution. The method may further include modifying, with atleast one processor, the merchant communication session to include atleast a portion of the transaction data of the transaction representedby the at least one transaction identifier. The transaction data mayfurther include at least one of the following: financial device holderidentification data, transaction amount, transaction time, transactiondescription, or any combination thereof. The method may further includetransmitting, with at least one processor, at least a portion of thetransaction data to at least one of the user device and a merchantdevice of the merchant.

In further preferred and non-limiting embodiments or aspects, thecommunicative connection of the merchant communication session may begenerated in a network environment, such that only specified financialaccount data is transmitted to the merchant device and/or only specifiedmerchant data is transmitted to the user device. The merchantcommunication session may include audio communication data and themethod may include facilitating a telephonic connection between the userdevice and at least one communication device of the merchant. Themerchant communication session may include text communication data, andthe generation of the communicative connection of the merchantcommunication session may include automatically populating an email,chat/messenger, or SMS communication at least partly with transactiondata and transmitting the email, chat/messenger, or SMS communication tothe merchant.

In further preferred and non-limiting embodiments or aspects, the methodmay include receiving, with at least one processor, one or moredesignated merchant communication modes from the merchant. The one ormore designated merchant communication modes may be representative ofpermitted communication modes and may include a mapping of preferredcontact data for each designated communication mode. The at least onemerchant communication mode may be determined from the one or moredesignated merchant communication modes. The method may also includegenerating, with at least one processor, a merchant communicationsession identifier associated with the merchant communication session.The method may further include transmitting, with at least oneprocessor, the merchant communication session identifier to the userdevice upon generation of the merchant communication session. The methodmay further include storing, with at least one processor, the merchantcommunication session identifier in association with the at least onetransaction identifier in at least one database.

According to one preferred and non-limiting embodiment or aspect,provided is a system for facilitating communication between a user of afinancial account and a merchant associated with at least onetransaction with the financial account. The system includes at least oneserver computer including at least one processor. The at least oneserver computer is programmed and/or configured to receive transactiondata representative of the at least one transaction between thefinancial account and the merchant. The transaction data includes atleast one transaction identifier. The server computer is also programmedand/or configured to determine the merchant associated with the at leastone transaction identifier and determine at least one merchantcommunication mode associated with the merchant. The at least onemerchant communication mode is representative of at least one of thefollowing types of communication: text, image, audio, video, or anycombination thereof. The server computer is further programmed and/orconfigured to transmit merchant contact data to a user device of theuser. The merchant contact data is configured to generate or cause thegeneration of at least one visual representation of the at least onemerchant communication mode on the user device. The server computer isfurther programmed and/or configured to receive at least one selectedcommunication mode of the at least one merchant communication mode. Theserver computer is further programmed and/or configured to generate amerchant communication session associated with the at least one selectedcommunication mode. The server computer is further programmed and/orconfigured to, in response to receiving the at least one selectedcommunication mode, facilitate a communicative connection for themerchant communication session between the user and the merchant throughthe at least one selected communication mode.

In further preferred and non-limiting embodiments or aspects, the atleast one server computer may be programmed and/or configured toassociate a plurality of merchant communication sessions with the atleast one transaction identifier. The system may also include at leastone database. The at least one server computer may also be programmedand/or configured to generate a dispute resolution record in the atleast one database. The dispute resolution record may include at least aportion of the transaction data and the plurality of merchantcommunication sessions between the user and the merchant associated withthe at least one transaction identifier. The at least one servercomputer may be further programmed and/or configured to transmit a listof the plurality of merchant communication sessions and at least aportion of the transaction data to at least one of the user, themerchant, and an issuer institution. The at least one server computermay be further programmed and/or configured to modify the merchantcommunication session to include at least a portion of the transactiondata of the transaction represented by the at least one transactionidentifier. The transaction data may further include at least one of thefollowing: financial device holder identification data, transactionamount, transaction time, transaction description, or any combinationthereof. The at least one server computer may be further programmedand/or configured to transmit at least a portion of the transaction datato at least one of the user device and a merchant device of themerchant.

In further preferred and non-limiting embodiments or aspects, thecommunicative connection of the merchant communication session may begenerated in a network environment, such that only specified financialaccount data is transmitted to the merchant device and/or only specifiedmerchant data is transmitted to the user device. The merchantcommunication session may include audio communication data, and the atleast one server computer may be programmed and/or configured tofacilitate a telephonic connection between the user device and at leastone communication device of the merchant. The merchant communicationsession may include text communication data, and the generation of thecommunicative connection of the merchant communication session mayinclude automatically populating an email, chat/messenger, or SMScommunication at least partly with transaction data and transmitting theemail, chat/messenger, or SMS communication to the merchant.

In further preferred and non-limiting embodiments or aspects, the atleast one server computer may be programmed and/or configured to receiveone or more designated merchant communication modes from the merchant.The one or more designated merchant communication modes may berepresentative of permitted communication modes and may include amapping of preferred contact data for each designated communicationmode. The at least one merchant communication mode may be determinedfrom the one or more designated merchant communication modes. The atleast one server computer may also be programmed and/or configured togenerate a merchant communication session identifier associated with themerchant communication session. The at least one server computer may befurther programmed and/or configured to transmit the merchantcommunication session identifier to the user device upon generation ofthe merchant communication session. The at least one server computer maybe further programmed and/or configured to store the merchantcommunication session identifier in association with the at least onetransaction identifier in at least one database.

According to one preferred and non-limiting embodiment or aspect,provided is a computer program product for facilitating communicationbetween a user of a financial account and a merchant associated with atleast one transaction with the financial account. The computer programproduct includes at least one non-transitory computer-readable mediumincluding program instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to receive transaction datarepresentative of the at least one transaction between the financialaccount and the merchant. The transaction data includes at least onetransaction identifier. The program instructions also cause the at leastone processor to determine the merchant associated with the at least onetransaction identifier and determine at least one merchant communicationmode associated with the merchant. The at least one merchantcommunication mode is representative of at least one of the followingtypes of communication: text, image, audio, video, or any combinationthereof. The program instructions further cause the at least oneprocessor to transmit merchant contact data to a user device of theuser. The merchant contact data is configured to generate or cause thegeneration of at least one visual representation of the at least onemerchant communication mode on the user device. The program instructionsfurther cause the at least one processor to receive at least oneselected communication mode of the at least one merchant communicationmode. The program instructions further cause the at least one processorto generate a merchant communication session associated with the atleast one selected communication mode. The program instructions furthercause the at least one processor to, in response to receiving the atleast one selected communication mode, facilitate a communicativeconnection for the merchant communication session between the user andthe merchant through the at least one selected communication mode.

In further preferred and non-limiting embodiments or aspects, theprogram instructions may cause the at least one processor to associate aplurality of merchant communication sessions with the at least onetransaction identifier. The program instructions may also cause the atleast one processor to generate a dispute resolution record in at leastone database. The dispute resolution record may include at least aportion of the transaction data and the plurality of merchantcommunication sessions between the user and the merchant associated withthe at least one transaction identifier. The program instructions mayfurther cause the at least one processor to transmit a list of theplurality of merchant communication sessions and at least a portion ofthe transaction data to at least one of the user, the merchant, and anissuer institution. The program instructions may further cause the atleast one processor to modify the merchant communication session toinclude at least a portion of the transaction data of the transactionrepresented by the at least one transaction identifier. The transactiondata may further include at least one of the following: financial deviceholder identification data, transaction amount, transaction time,transaction description, or any combination thereof. The programinstructions may further cause the at least one processor to transmit atleast a portion of the transaction data to at least one of the userdevice and a merchant device of the merchant.

In further preferred and non-limiting embodiments or aspects, thecommunicative connection of the merchant communication session may begenerated in a network environment, such that only specified financialaccount data is transmitted to the merchant device and/or only specifiedmerchant data is transmitted to the user device. The merchantcommunication session may include audio communication data, and theprogram instructions may cause the at least one processor to facilitatea telephonic connection between the user device and at least onecommunication device of the merchant. The merchant communication sessionmay include text communication data, and the generation of thecommunicative connection of the merchant communication session mayinclude automatically populating an email, chat/messenger, or SMScommunication at least partly with transaction data and transmitting theemail, chat/messenger, or SMS communication to the merchant.

In further preferred and non-limiting embodiments or aspects, theprogram instructions may cause the at least one processor to receive oneor more designated merchant communication modes from the merchant. Theone or more designated merchant communication modes may berepresentative of permitted communication modes and may include amapping of preferred contact data for each designated communicationmode. The at least one merchant communication mode may be determinedfrom the one or more designated merchant communication modes. Theprogram instructions may also cause the at least one processor togenerate a merchant communication session identifier associated with themerchant communication session. The program instructions may furthercause the at least one processor to transmit the merchant communicationsession identifier to the user device upon generation of the merchantcommunication session. The program instructions may also cause the atleast one processor to store the merchant communication sessionidentifier in association with the at least one transaction identifierin at least one database.

Other preferred and non-limiting embodiments or aspects of the presentinvention will be set forth in the following numbered clauses:

Clause 1: A computer-implemented method for facilitating communicationbetween a user of a financial account and a merchant associated with atleast one transaction with the financial account, the method comprising:receiving, with at least one processor, transaction data representativeof the at least one transaction between the financial account and themerchant, the transaction data comprising at least one transactionidentifier; determining, with at least one processor, the merchantassociated with the at least one transaction identifier; determining,with at least one processor, at least one merchant communication modeassociated with the merchant, the at least one merchant communicationmode representative of at least one of the following types ofcommunication: text, image, audio, video, or any combination thereof;transmitting, with at least one processor, merchant contact data to auser device of the user, the merchant contact data configured togenerate or cause the generation of at least one visual representationof the at least one merchant communication mode on the user device;receiving, with at least one processor, at least one selectedcommunication mode of the at least one merchant communication mode;generating, with at least one processor, a merchant communicationsession associated with the at least one selected communication mode;and in response to receiving the at least one selected communicationmode, facilitating, with at least one processor, a communicativeconnection for the merchant communication session between the user andthe merchant through the at least one selected communication mode.

Clause 2: The computer-implemented method of clause 1, furthercomprising associating, with at least one processor, a plurality ofmerchant communication sessions with the at least one transactionidentifier.

Clause 3: The computer-implemented method of clause 1 or 2, furthercomprising generating, with at least one processor, a dispute resolutionrecord in at least one database, the dispute resolution recordcomprising at least a portion of the transaction data and the pluralityof merchant communication sessions between the user and the merchantassociated with the at least one transaction identifier.

Clause 4: The computer-implemented method of any of clauses 1-3, furthercomprising transmitting, with at least one processor, a list of theplurality of merchant communication sessions and at least a portion ofthe transaction data to at least one of the user, the merchant, and anissuer institution.

Clause 5: The computer-implemented method of any of clauses 1-4, furthercomprising: modifying, with at least one processor, the merchantcommunication session to comprise at least a portion of the transactiondata of the transaction represented by the at least one transactionidentifier, the transaction data further comprising at least one of thefollowing: financial device holder identification data, transactionamount, transaction time, transaction description, or any combinationthereof; and transmitting, with at least one processor, at least aportion of the transaction data to at least one of the user device and amerchant device of the merchant.

Clause 6: The computer-implemented method of any of clauses 1-5, whereinthe communicative connection of the merchant communication session isgenerated in a network environment, such that only specified financialaccount data is transmitted to the merchant device and/or only specifiedmerchant data is transmitted to the user device.

Clause 7: The computer-implemented method of any of clauses 1-6, whereinthe merchant communication session comprises audio communication data,the method further comprising facilitating a telephonic connectionbetween the user device and at least one communication device of themerchant.

Clause 8: The computer-implemented method of any of clauses 1-7, whereinthe merchant communication session comprises text communication data,and wherein the generation of the communicative connection of themerchant communication session comprises automatically populating anemail, chat/messenger, or SMS communication at least partly withtransaction data and transmitting the email, chat/messenger, or SMScommunication to the merchant.

Clause 9: The computer-implemented method of any of clauses 1-8, furthercomprising receiving, with at least one processor, one or moredesignated merchant communication modes from the merchant, the one ormore designated merchant communication modes representative of permittedcommunication modes and comprising a mapping of preferred contact datafor each designated communication mode, and wherein the at least onemerchant communication mode is determined from the one or moredesignated merchant communication modes.

Clause 10: The computer-implemented method of any of clauses 1-9,further comprising: generating, with at least one processor, a merchantcommunication session identifier associated with the merchantcommunication session; transmitting, with at least one processor, themerchant communication session identifier to the user device upongeneration of the merchant communication session; and storing, with atleast one processor, the merchant communication session identifier inassociation with the at least one transaction identifier in at least onedatabase.

Clause 11: A system for facilitating communication between a user of afinancial account and a merchant associated with at least onetransaction with the financial account, the system comprising at leastone server computer including at least one processor, the at least oneserver computer programmed and/or configured to: receive transactiondata representative of the at least one transaction between thefinancial account and the merchant, the transaction data comprising atleast one transaction identifier; determine the merchant associated withthe at least one transaction identifier; determine at least one merchantcommunication mode associated with the merchant, the at least onemerchant communication mode representative of at least one of thefollowing types of communication: text, image, audio, video, or anycombination thereof; transmit merchant contact data to a user device ofthe user, the merchant contact data configured to generate or cause thegeneration of at least one visual representation of the at least onemerchant communication mode on the user device; receive at least oneselected communication mode of the at least one merchant communicationmode; generate a merchant communication session associated with the atleast one selected communication mode; and in response to receiving theat least one selected communication mode, facilitate a communicativeconnection for the merchant communication session between the user andthe merchant through the at least one selected communication mode.

Clause 12: The system of clause 11, wherein the at least one servercomputer is further programmed and/or configured to associate aplurality of merchant communication sessions with the at least onetransaction identifier.

Clause 13: The system of clause 11 or 12, further comprising at leastone database, and wherein the at least one server computer is furtherprogrammed and/or configured to generate a dispute resolution record inthe at least one database, the dispute resolution record comprising atleast a portion of the transaction data and the plurality of merchantcommunication sessions between the user and the merchant associated withthe at least one transaction identifier.

Clause 14: The system of any of clauses 11-13, wherein the at least oneserver computer is further programmed and/or configured to transmit alist of the plurality of merchant communication sessions and at least aportion of the transaction data to at least one of the user, themerchant, and an issuer institution.

Clause 15: The system of any of clauses 11-14, wherein the at least oneserver computer is further programmed and/or configured to: modify themerchant communication session to comprise at least a portion of thetransaction data of the transaction represented by the at least onetransaction identifier, the transaction data further comprising at leastone of the following: financial device holder identification data,transaction amount, transaction time, transaction description, or anycombination thereof; and transmit at least a portion of the transactiondata to at least one of the user device and a merchant device of themerchant.

Clause 16: The system of any of clauses 11-15, wherein the communicativeconnection of the merchant communication session is generated in anetwork environment, such that only specified financial account data istransmitted to the merchant device and/or only specified merchant datais transmitted to the user device.

Clause 17: The system of any of clauses 11-16, wherein the merchantcommunication session comprises audio communication data, and whereinthe at least one server computer is further programmed and/or configuredto facilitate a telephonic connection between the user device and atleast one communication device of the merchant.

Clause 18: The system of any of clauses 11-17, wherein the merchantcommunication session comprises text communication data, and wherein thegeneration of the communicative connection of the merchant communicationsession comprises automatically populating an email, chat/messenger, orSMS communication at least partly with transaction data and transmittingthe email, chat/messenger, or SMS communication to the merchant.

Clause 19: The system of any of clauses 11-18, wherein the at least oneserver computer is further programmed and/or configured to receive oneor more designated merchant communication modes from the merchant, theone or more designated merchant communication modes representative ofpermitted communication modes and comprising a mapping of preferredcontact data for each designated communication mode, and wherein the atleast one merchant communication mode is determined from the one or moredesignated merchant communication modes.

Clause 20: The system of any of clauses 11-19, wherein the at least oneserver computer is further programmed and/or configured to: generate amerchant communication session identifier associated with the merchantcommunication session; transmit the merchant communication sessionidentifier to the user device upon generation of the merchantcommunication session; and store the merchant communication sessionidentifier in association with the at least one transaction identifierin at least one database.

Clause 21: A computer program product for facilitating communicationbetween a user of a financial account and a merchant associated with atleast one transaction with the financial account, comprising at leastone non-transitory computer-readable medium including programinstructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the atleast one processor to: receive transaction data representative of theat least one transaction between the financial account and the merchant,the transaction data comprising at least one transaction identifier;determine the merchant associated with the at least one transactionidentifier; determine at least one merchant communication modeassociated with the merchant, the at least one merchant communicationmode representative of at least one of the following types ofcommunication: text, image, audio, video, or any combination thereof;transmit merchant contact data to a user device of the user, themerchant contact data configured to generate or cause the generation ofat least one visual representation of the at least one merchantcommunication mode on the user device; receive at least one selectedcommunication mode of the at least one merchant communication mode;generate a merchant communication session associated with the at leastone selected communication mode; and in response to receiving the atleast one selected communication mode, facilitate a communicativeconnection for the merchant communication session between the user andthe merchant through the at least one selected communication mode.

Clause 22: The computer program product of clause 21, wherein theprogram instructions further cause the at least one processor toassociate a plurality of merchant communication sessions with the atleast one transaction identifier.

Clause 23: The computer program product clause 21 or 22, wherein theprogram instructions further cause the at least one processor togenerate a dispute resolution record in at least one database, thedispute resolution record comprising at least a portion of thetransaction data and the plurality of merchant communication sessionsbetween the user and the merchant associated with the at least onetransaction identifier.

Clause 24: The computer program product of any of clauses 21-23, whereinthe program instructions further cause the at least one processor totransmit a list of the plurality of merchant communication sessions andat least a portion of the transaction data to at least one of the user,the merchant, and an issuer institution.

Clause 25: The computer program product of any of clauses 21-24, whereinthe program instructions further cause the at least one processor to:modify the merchant communication session to comprise at least a portionof the transaction data of the transaction represented by the at leastone transaction identifier, the transaction data further comprising atleast one of the following: financial device holder identification data,transaction amount, transaction time, transaction description, or anycombination thereof; and transmit at least a portion of the transactiondata to at least one of the user device and a merchant device of themerchant.

Clause 26: The computer program product of any of clauses 21-25, whereinthe communicative connection of the merchant communication session isgenerated in a network environment, such that only specified financialaccount data is transmitted to the merchant device and/or only specifiedmerchant data is transmitted to the user device.

Clause 27: The computer program product of any of clauses 21-26, whereinthe merchant communication session comprises audio communication data,and wherein the program instructions further cause the at least oneprocessor to facilitate a telephonic connection between the user deviceand at least one communication device of the merchant.

Clause 28: The computer program product of any of clauses 21-27, whereinthe merchant communication session comprises text communication data,and wherein the generation of the communicative connection of themerchant communication session comprises automatically populating anemail, chat/messenger, or SMS communication at least partly withtransaction data and transmitting the email, chat/messenger, or SMScommunication to the merchant.

Clause 29: The computer program product of any of clauses 21-28, whereinthe program instructions further cause the at least one processor toreceive one or more designated merchant communication modes from themerchant, the one or more designated merchant communication modesrepresentative of permitted communication modes and comprising a mappingof preferred contact data for each designated communication mode, andwherein the at least one merchant communication mode is determined fromthe one or more designated merchant communication modes.

Clause 30: The computer program product of any of clauses 21-29, whereinthe program instructions further cause the at least one processor to:generate a merchant communication session identifier associated with themerchant communication session; transmit the merchant communicationsession identifier to the user device upon generation of the merchantcommunication session; and store the merchant communication sessionidentifier in association with the at least one transaction identifierin at least one database.

These and other features and characteristics of the present invention,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structures and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description and the appended claims with reference to theaccompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification,wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in thevarious figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that thedrawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only andare not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. As usedin the specification and the claims, the singular form of “a,” “an,” and“the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Additional advantages and details of the invention are explained ingreater detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments thatare illustrated in the accompanying schematic figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a methodand system facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account;

FIG. 2 is a process diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a method andsystem for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account;

FIG. 3 is a process diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a method andsystem for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account;

FIG. 4 is a process diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a method andsystem for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a methodand system for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a methodand system for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a methodand system for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a methodand system for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a methodand system for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a methodand system for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a methodand system for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a methodand system for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account; and

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment or aspect of a methodand system for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper”, “lower”,“right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “lateral”,“longitudinal” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention asit is oriented in the drawing figures. However, it is to be understoodthat the invention may assume various alternative variations and stepsequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is alsoto be understood that the specific devices and process illustrated inthe attached drawings, and described in the following specification, aresimply exemplary embodiments of the invention. Hence, specificdimensions and other physical characteristics related to the embodimentsdisclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting. Also, it shouldbe understood that any numerical range recited herein is intended toinclude all sub-ranges subsumed therein. For example, a range of “1 to10” is intended to include all sub-ranges between (and including) therecited minimum value of 1 and the recited maximum value of 10, that is,having a minimum value equal to or greater than 1 and a maximum value ofequal to or less than 10.

As used herein, the terms “communication” and “communicate” refer to thereceipt or transfer of one or more signals, messages, commands, or othertype of data. For one unit (e.g., any device, system, or componentthereof) to be in communication with another unit means that the oneunit is able to directly or indirectly receive data from and/or transmitdata to the other unit. This may refer to a direct or indirectconnection that is wired and/or wireless in nature. Additionally, twounits may be in communication with each other even though the datatransmitted may be modified, processed, relayed, and/or routed betweenthe first and second unit. For example, a first unit may be incommunication with a second unit even though the first unit passivelyreceives data and does not actively transmit data to the second unit. Asanother example, a first unit may be in communication with a second unitif an intermediary unit processes data from one unit and transmitsprocessed data to the second unit. It will be appreciated that numerousother arrangements are possible.

As used herein, the term “issuer institution” may refer to one or moreentities, such as a bank, that provides accounts to customers forconducting payment transactions, such as initiating credit and/or debitpayments. For example, an issuer institution may provide an accountidentifier, such as a personal account number (PAN), to a customer thatuniquely identifies one or more accounts associated with that customer.The account identifier may be embodied on a physical financialinstrument, such as a payment card, and/or may be electronic and usedfor electronic payments. As used herein, the term “account identifier”may include one or more PANs, tokens, or other identifiers associatedwith a customer account. An account identifier may be directly orindirectly associated with an issuer institution, such that an accountidentifier may be a token that maps to a PAN or other type of accountidentifier. The term “token” may refer to an identifier that is used asa substitute or replacement identifier for an original accountidentifier, such as a PAN. Account identifiers may be alphanumeric orany combination of characters and/or symbols. Tokens may be associatedwith a PAN or other original account identifiers in one or moredatabases such that they can be used to conduct a transaction withoutdirectly using the original account identifier. In some examples, anoriginal account identifier, such as a PAN, may be associated with aplurality of tokens for different individuals or purposes. An issuerinstitution may be associated with a bank identification number (BIN) orother unique identifier that uniquely identifies it among other issuerinstitutions. The terms “issuer institution,” “issuer bank,” and “issuersystem” may also refer to one or more computer systems operated by or onbehalf of an issuer institution, such as a server computer executing oneor more software applications. For example, an issuer system may includeone or more authorization servers for authorizing a payment transaction.

As used herein, the term “merchant” refers to any individual or entitythat provides goods, and/or services, or access to goods and/orservices, to customers based on a transaction, such as a paymenttransaction. Merchants may include, but are not limited to, restaurants,food trucks, clubs, gymnasiums, retail stores, professional servicesproviders (e.g., dentists, doctors, plumbers, etc.), parks, museums,attractions, sporting venues, and/or the like. It will be appreciatedthat numerous other types of merchants are within the scope of thisinvention.

As used herein, the term “financial device” may refer to a portable(e.g., physical) payment card, a gift card, a smartcard, a smart media,a payroll card, a healthcare card, a wrist band, a machine-readablemedium containing account information, a keychain device, a supermarketdiscount card, a cellular phone, a mobile device, a personal digitalassistant, a pager, a security card, a computer, an access card, awireless terminal, or a transponder. The financial device may include avolatile or a non-volatile memory to store information, such as theaccount number or a name of the account holder. The term “financialdevice” may also refer to any unique identifier, physical or digital,associated with a financial transaction account that can be used tocomplete a transaction between a user of the financial device andanother party, such as a merchant. For example, a financial device maybe a financial transaction account number and confirmation code that maybe entered into an online store payment interface. It will beappreciated that many other configurations and embodiments are possible.

As used herein, the term “merchant system” may refer to one or moreserver computers, point-of-sale devices, online interfaces, third partyhosted services, and/or the like that are used to complete transactionswith one or more financial devices. The term merchant system may alsorefer to one or more server computers, processors, online interfaces,third party hosted services, and/or the like that are used to transmitand/or receive communications with issuer institutions, transactionservice providers, transaction processing servers, financial deviceholders, and/or the like.

As used herein, the term “transaction service provider” may refer to anentity that collects authorization requests from merchants and providesguarantees of payment, in some cases through an agreement between thetransaction service provider and an issuer institution.

As used herein, the term “mobile device” may refer to one or moreportable electronic devices that are configured to communicate with oneor more networks. As an example, a mobile device may include a cellularphone (e.g., a smartphone or standard cellular phone), a portablecomputer, a wearable device (e.g., watches, glasses, lenses, clothing,and/or the like), a personal digital assistant (PDA), and/or other likedevices.

As used herein, the term “financial account” may refer to anyarrangement wherein physical or digital money may be deposited orwithdrawn. One preferred and non-limiting example of a financial accountis a bank account, to which may be linked to one or more financialdevices by which transactions may be completed, e.g., merchanttransactions. Financial accounts may be accessed, managed, viewed,and/or the like by a user, such as through online interfaces provided byissuer institutions. Said interfaces may have functionality related toor provided by transaction service providers. One preferred andnon-limiting example of a user of a financial account is a financialdevice holder, but users may also include account managers, accountants,account supervisors, and/or the like.

Non-limiting embodiments or aspects of the present invention aredirected to computer-implemented systems and methods for facilitatingcommunication between a user, e.g., a financial device holder, and amerchant. Embodiments or aspects of the present invention provide atleast one server for receiving data from and transmitting data to userdevices, such as through online user interfaces for managing a financialaccount. In preferred and non-limiting embodiments, a user may access aninterface for a financial account on their user device (e.g., desktopcomputer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.). The interface may providean application program interface (API) layer for communicating withtransaction service provider systems, including a communication sessionmanagement server. The system of the present invention provides forreceiving a user designation of one or more transactions on the userdevice, which is received by the session management server fordetermining available communication modes with an associated merchant.Also provided are automatically-generated communications of availablecommunication modes transmitted to the user device, and thereafterfacilitating a communication session between the user and the merchant.The system has the technical benefit of eliminating disparate useractions of manually reviewing transaction accounts, seeking merchantidentification information through search engines, determining bestmodes of communication, and independently initiating communications withmerchants. Additionally, the system improves on existing technologies byenriching communications with automatically-retrieved transaction data,and by further obfuscating information that either the user or themerchant wish to keep private. Moreover, embodiments or aspects of thepresent invention provide the tools and systems to track, group, anddisplay separate communication sessions between users and merchants, sothat transaction-related conversations may be monitored and managed.

With specific reference to FIG. 1, and in one preferred and non-limitingembodiment or aspect, provided is a method and system 100 forfacilitating communication between a user 102 of a financial account anda merchant associated with at least one transaction with the financialaccount. A user 102 associated with a financial account may accessfinancial account data on a user device 104, e.g., a desktop computer, alaptop computer, a tablet, a smartphone, and/or the like. The userdevice 104 may display financial account data through an issuerinterface 106. By way of example, the issuer interface may be a nativesoftware application on the user device 104 for accessing financialaccount information. By way of further example, the issuer interface 106may be an online portal with an API integration layer that is accessibleby a network browser on the user device 104. It will be appreciated thatmany configurations and arrangements of issuer interface 106 arepossible. The transaction data is representative of one or moretransactions completed between the financial account and one or moremerchants. The transaction data may be visually represented in theissuer interface 106 as a list of purchases from merchants by afinancial device associated with the financial account. The user 102 maybe the financial device holder who, via the issuer interface 106displayed on the user device 104, may review their previous transactionsfor their financial device.

With further reference to FIG. 1, and in further preferred andnon-limiting embodiments or aspects, the user 102 may select atransaction shown in the issuer interface 106. For example, the user 102may remember agreeing to pay a different amount for the transaction andmay want to contact the merchant to dispute the cost of the transaction.In another example, the user 102 may not have authorized the transactionand may want to contact the merchant to dispute the transaction orgather information about the transaction. It will be appreciated thatother scenarios may apply. Transaction data for the selected transactionis communicated to a session management server 108. The transaction datapreferably includes a unique transaction identifier, by which theselected transaction may be identified. The session management server108 may be associated with an issuer institution, a transaction serviceprovider, or another entity. If the transaction data received by thesession management server 108 does not include a merchant identifier,the session management server 108 may communicate with a transactiondata database 110 to determine the identity of the merchant associatedwith the selected transaction. The communicated transaction data,however, may inherently include a merchant identifier that can bedetermined directly by the session management server 108. Thetransaction data database 110 may be a data storage device havingtransaction information for one or more transaction accounts. Althoughthe transaction data database 110 is preferably associated with atransaction service provider, the transaction data database 110 may beassociated with an issuer institution or other entity that maintains acollection of financial transaction information. It will be appreciatedthat other configurations are possible.

With further reference to FIG. 1, and in further preferred andnon-limiting embodiments or aspects, the session management server 108determines the configured contact options for the associated merchant,in the form of predetermined (e.g., preferred) communication modes.Predetermined communication modes may be a combination of one or morecommunication mode types, such as a text-based communication mode, animage-based communication mode, an audio-based communication mode,and/or a video-based communication mode. For example, email or shortmessage service (SMS) communications are types of text-basedcommunication modes. A video teleconference communication may be acombination of audio- and video-based communication modes. Communicationover internet protocol (such as employed by Skype, Google Hangouts, andthe like), provide a means for any combination of text, audio, or visualcommunication. It will be appreciated that the predeterminedcommunication modes for a given merchant may have many configurations.The configured communication modes for one or more merchants may bestored in a merchant data database 112, which may also be the samedatabase as the transaction data database 110. The merchant datadatabase 112 may be associated with a transaction service provider,issuer institution, or other entity. After determining the availablepredetermined communication modes for the associated merchant, thesession management server 108 may generate communication sessions andrelated software handles for said sessions. A communication sessionincludes the necessary data structures, addresses, and/or libraries tofacilitate a communicative connection between a user and a merchant. Ifthe session management server 108 generates the communication sessionsbefore a user 102 selects a communication mode, the session managementserver 108 may transmit communication session handles to the user whichcorrespond to the available communication modes. The user 102 may thenselect a communication mode in the issuer interface 106 to triggerinitiation of a communicative connection within the related, generatedcommunication session. Alternatively, the session management server 108may transmit data configured to display on the issuer interface 106visual representations of the available communication modes, and uponselection by a user 102, the session management server 108 may thengenerate the corresponding communication session. In whicheverconfiguration is employed, a communicative connection between the user102 and the merchant is generated in response to a user 102 selection ofa communication mode for contacting a merchant. It will also beappreciated that the predetermined merchant communication modes may betransmitted to the user device 104 along with the transaction data fordisplay in the issuer interface 106 prior to the user's selection of atransaction. Other configurations are possible.

With further reference to FIG. 1, and in further preferred andnon-limiting embodiments or aspects, the session management server 108may automatically generate a communication related to the selectedtransaction and transmit the communication to the associated merchant.By way of example, the user 102 may select a transaction, view theavailable merchant communication modes, choose an “email” communicationmode from the list of available communication modes, and, in response,the session management server 108 may automatically generate an email tothe merchant containing relevant transaction and user 102 information.Automatically generated communications may be enriched with data fromthe transaction data database 110 to include transaction data that maybe relevant to the correspondence, such as financial device holderidentification data (e.g., cardholder name, cardholder address,cardholder date of birth, etc.), transaction amount, transaction time,transaction description, or any combination thereof. Communications mayalso be automatically generated by a communication server 118, which maybe the same server as the session management server 108. Automaticallygenerated communications may be further presented to the user 102 beforebeing transmitted to the merchant, such that the user 102 may add, edit,or remove information from the communication prior to it being sent. Forexample, the automatically generated communication may be an email,which may be enriched with a transaction date, a transactiondescription, and a transaction amount. The user 102 may then enter areason for the communication, such as: “I am disputing this transaction.I did not make this purchase and believe my card may have been forged.”The session management server 108 or communication server 118 may thentransmit the communication to the merchant. It will be appreciated thatmany configurations and arrangements for generated communications arepossible.

With further reference to FIG. 1, and in further preferred andnon-limiting embodiments or aspects, upon selection of a communicationmode by the user 102, the user device 104 may be automatically,directly, and communicatively connected to a merchant communicationdevice 116. By way of example, the user 102 may select a transaction,view the available communication modes for the associated merchant, andselect a “phone” communication mode. The user device 104 may thenautomatically dial an associated phone number of the merchant, whichplaces the user device 104 in communication with the merchantcommunication device 116. It will be appreciated that such direct orsubstantially direct communicative connections between user devices 104and merchant communication devices 116 may be completed for othercommunication modes. The communication between a user device 104 and amerchant communication device 116 may also be facilitated by acommunication server 118, which may be the same server as the sessionmanagement server 108. The identifying address of the user device 104and the identifying address of the merchant communication device 116 maybe kept private by routing the communicative connection through thecommunication server 118. A preferred but non-limiting embodiment of acommunication server 118 is a cloud communications platform (e.g.,Twilio, Plivo, Nexmo, etc.). Moreover, by connecting the user device 104and the merchant communication device 116 through a communication server118, alternative communication modes may be used where pre-existingphone accounts, email accounts, and/or the like are not required. Otherconfigurations of communicative connections are possible.

With further reference to FIG. 1, and in further preferred andnon-limiting embodiments or aspects, the merchant may use a same ordifferent merchant communication device 116 to set the preferred,predetermined communication modes. The merchant may access a merchantinterface 114, which may directly or indirectly access a merchant datadatabase 112 where the predetermined communication modes are stored. Themerchant interface 114 may add, edit, or remove communication modesand/or preferences from the merchant data database 112 throughfacilitation by the session management server 108. It will beappreciated that one or more merchant communication sessions may bestored in association with their corresponding transaction identifier inthe merchant data database 112 and/or the transaction data database 110,for access by merchants or users 102. A list of previous merchantcommunication sessions may be provided to the user 102 through theissuer interface 106, and it may be provided to the merchant through themerchant interface 114. The list of previous merchant communicationsessions may be included in a new communication session when it isgenerated, so that a user 102 and/or merchant may have access to thehistory of communications. Merchant communication sessions may bedesignated by a generated identifier, so that they can be referenced andrecalled by the user 102 and/or merchant. Other configurations arepossible.

With specific reference to FIG. 2, and in one preferred and non-limitingembodiment or aspect, provided is a method and system 100 forfacilitating communication between a user 102 of a financial account anda merchant associated with at least one transaction with the financialaccount. Depicted is a process diagram of a computer-implemented methodfor execution by at least one processor, such as that of the sessionmanagement server 108 and/or the communication server 118. At step 202,the processor receives at least one transaction identifier from a userdevice 104, the transaction identifier representative of a transactionselected by a user 102. The processes described herein may be executedfor one or more transaction identifiers, representative of one or moreselected transactions. The transaction identifier may itself be includedin a set of transaction data that is transmitted from the user device104. At step 204, the processor may receive additional transaction datarelated to the transaction identifier, such as from a transaction datadatabase 110. The transaction data, either received from the user device104 or retrieved from the transaction data database 110, may include:financial device holder identification data (e.g., cardholder name,cardholder address, cardholder date of birth, etc.), transaction amount,transaction time, transaction description, or any combination thereof. Amerchant identifier associated with the transaction identifier may bereceived at step 202 or retrieved at step 204. Based on the associatedmerchant identifier, a step 208, one or more predetermined merchantcommunication modes may be received from a merchant data database 112.It will be appreciated that the merchant data database 112 may be thesame database as the transaction data database 110. At step 212, theprocessor determines if there is at least one available predeterminedcommunication mode for the associated merchant. If there is not, theprocessor may notify the user 102 at step 214 that there are noavailable communication modes. If there is at least one communicationmode available for the associated merchant, the processor may thengenerate merchant communication session contexts at step 216.

With further reference to FIG. 2, and in further preferred andnon-limiting embodiments or aspects, the processor may generate one ormore communication sessions at step 218, through a real-time mappingcache/data store. By way of example, if the communication mode is atext-based communication mode (e.g., email, chat/messenger, shortmessaging service, etc.), the processor may generate a text-basedcommunication session, such as at step 220. If the communication mode isan audio-based communication mode (e.g., telephone, voice over internetprotocol, voice message, etc.), the processor may generate anaudio-based communication session, such as at step 222. If thecommunication mode is an image-based or video-based communication mode(e.g., videotelephony, video over internet protocol, etc.) the processormay generate an image-based or video-based communication session, suchas at step 224. It will be appreciated that a given communication modemay include one or more types of communication, such as text, image,audio, and/or video, and therefore steps 220, 222, and 224 can beconsidered both alone and in combination. At step 216, the merchantcommunication sessions may be generated in response to a user 102selection of a specific communication mode, or the merchantcommunication sessions may be generated before a user 102 makes aselection of a communication mode. Using transaction data collected atstep 204, or receiving transaction data after merchant communicationsessions are generated at step 216, the merchant communication sessionsmay be enriched with the transaction data 228. Transaction data may beprovided to the merchant to provide additional information and contextto the user's 102 communication. At step 226, a communicative connectionis established for the merchant communication session, either throughdirect communication between a user device 104 and a merchantcommunication device 116, or by facilitation through a communicationserver 118. Merchant communication session data (e.g., connection timeof day, connection duration, transaction data, merchant personnelidentification data, user 102 identification data, etc.) may also bestored in association with the transaction identifier, so that one ormore completed merchant communication sessions may be later recalled byusers 102 and/or merchants. It will be appreciated that otherconfigurations are possible.

With specific reference to FIG. 3, and in one preferred and non-limitingembodiment or aspect, provided is a method and system 100 forfacilitating communication between a user 102 of a financial account anda merchant 115 associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account. At S1, a merchant 115 uses a merchant communicationdevice 116, potentially by using a merchant interface 114, to configureits contact settings. The contact settings include preferred (alsocalled “predetermined”) communication modes, contact addresses/numbers,contact personnel, and/or the like, and may be stored in the merchantdata database 112. At S2, a user 102, via an issuer interface 106 on auser device 104, selects one or more transactions. At S3, transactiondata associated with the selected transaction is communicated to asession management server 108. The transaction data may include atransaction identifier and/or a merchant identifier, which is determinedat S4. If a merchant identifier is received by the session managementserver 108 from the user device 104, the session management server mayproceed to S7 to receive the predetermined communication modes from themerchant data database 112. If the transaction data does not include amerchant identifier but instead includes a transaction identifier, thesession management server 108 may then communicate with the transactiondata database 110 at S5 to a merchant identifier. Additional transactiondata may be retrieved at S5, if not already provided at S3, such asfinancial device holder identification data (e.g., cardholder name,cardholder address, cardholder date of birth, etc.), transaction amount,transaction time, transaction description, or any combination thereof.At S6, the session management server 108 determines an associatedmerchant identifier from the received transaction data. At S7, thesession management server 108 receives the predetermined merchantcommunication modes that were configured by the merchant at S1.

With further reference to FIG. 3, and in further preferred andnon-limiting embodiments and aspects, the session management server 108generates merchant communication sessions corresponding to the one ormore predetermined communication modes, at S8. At S8, the communicationsessions may also be enriched (i.e., augmented with additionalinformation) with the received transaction data. At S9, the sessionmanagement server 108 communicates communication session handles to theuser device 104. Alternatively, the session management server 108 maygenerate at S8 display data, that when transmitted at S9, is configuredto display to the user 102 the available communication modes for theassociated merchant 115, and thereafter generate the communicationsessions in response to user 102 selection of a particular mode. At S10,the user 102 selects a particular communication mode on the user device104. Either a communication session handle or data of the user's 102selection is transmitted back to the session management server at 108.If merchant communication sessions have not yet been generated, they aregenerated at S12. At S12, a communicative connection is generated toestablish communication between the user device 104 and a merchantcommunication device 116 (which may or may not be the same merchantcommunication device 116 used at S1). Communications, within a newcommunicative connection for a generated merchant communication session,may be automatically generated at S12 and transmitted to the merchantcommunication device 116 at S13. Alternatively, at S14, the user device104 may initiate a communicative connection directly with the merchantcommunication device 116 based on the communication session dataprovided to it at S9. Still more, a communicative connection between theuser device 104 and the merchant communication device 116 may begenerated and/or facilitated by a communication server 118, as depictedby the transmission of communication data to the communication server118 at S15, the reception and processing of communication data at S16,and the transmission of communication data to the merchant communicationdevice 116 at S17. Communications shown by S15, S16, and S17 may bereversed along the same path, from the merchant 115 to the user 102.Additionally, the communication server 118 may obfuscate user 102 data,merchant 115 data, or transaction data at S16 to maintain the privacy ofcertain information through the communication. It will be appreciatedthat other configurations are possible.

With specific reference to FIG. 4, and in one preferred and non-limitingembodiment or aspect, provided is a method and system 100 forfacilitating communication between a user of a financial account and amerchant associated with at least one transaction with the financialaccount. Specifically, provided is a method for execution by at leastone processor for receiving a designation of a communication mode andfacilitating communication between a user and a merchant. At step 302,the processor receives a selection of a communication mode from a user.At step 304, the processor automatically populates a communication withtransaction data received from a user device or from a transaction datadatabase. At step 306, the processor receives feedback/input from theuser, to receive any additional information to be included in thecommunication. At step 308, the processor transmits communicationconnection details to a communication server to facilitate acommunication session between the user and the merchant. Alternatively,at step 308, the processor may transmit the communication connectiondetails to the user device for direct communicative connection with themerchant, or connection through the communication server. At step 310,the processor completes sending the communication, or completesfacilitating the communication, between the user and the merchant andmay optionally store data related to the communication session. At step312, the processor optionally sends a copy of the communication or aconfirmatory receipt of the session to a user and/or a merchant. Otherarrangements are possible, as elaborated below.

With further reference to FIG. 4, and in further preferred andnon-limiting embodiments or aspects, the diagram displays the variableconfiguration of the process for facilitating a communicative connectionbetween the user and the merchant. After receiving a selection of acommunication mode at step 302, the processor may proceed to receiveadditional feedback/input from the user at step 306. Alternatively, theprocessor may proceed from step 302 to step 308, to transmitcommunicative connection details. Still more, the processor may proceedfrom receiving the selection in step 302 to automatically completing thecommunication in step 310 by transmitting an auto-generated message tothe merchant. It will further be appreciated that after receivingfeedback/input from the user in step 306, the processor may proceed tocompleting facilitation of the communication session by transmitting agenerated message in step 310, instead of intermediately transmittingcommunication details to the user or communication server. Many otherconfigurations and arrangements are within the scope of the invention.

With further reference to the foregoing figures, and with specificreference to FIG. 5, provided is an exemplary and non-limitingembodiment of the above-described system and method. At step P1, a userinteracts with an issuer interface 106 to pass at least one transactionidentifier to the transaction service provider 107 to request merchantcommunication session handles. At step P2, at least one processor of thetransaction service provider 107 looks up in its internal database tofind configured contact options for the original transaction(corresponding to the transaction identifier) in context. Also at stepP2, the processor associated with the transaction service provider 107creates merchant communication sessions internally and provides handlesto the issuer interface 106 integration layer for callback. At step P3,the user decides to contact the merchant via email or phone/SMS, andthrough interaction with the issuer interface 106 integration layer,provides selection data to the transaction service provider 107. Theprocessor of the transaction service provider 107 loads merchantcommunication sessions created in the previous steps and enablesseamless user communication with the associated merchant. Where themerchant communication mode is hosted through a third party service,such as a chat/messenger service (e.g., AIM, Yahoo, Myspace, Facebook,Google), a cloud/call communication service (e.g., Ooma, Vonage), avideotelephony service (e.g., Skype, FaceTime, Google Hangouts), and/orthe like, the processor may create a link or instance through said thirdparty service or provide the endpoint addresses for the parties tocommunicate with each other. At step P4, merchants interact with amerchant interface 114 integration layer to look up details about theselected transaction in context, using key attributes such as, but notlimited to, a provided reference ID in the email or phone number used bythe transaction service provider 107 to route the user call to themerchant. At step P5, the transaction service provider 107 facilitatesinterfaces for issuer institutions to look up historical merchantcommunication sessions, and issuer institutions may call data from thetransaction service provider 107. At step P6, issuer institutions mayattach past merchant communication sessions to their transaction disputecases as part of a dispute resolution process with the transactionservice provider 107. It will be appreciated that other configurationsand arrangements are possible.

With further reference to the foregoing figures, and with specificreference to FIG. 6, provided is an exemplary and non-limitingembodiment of the above-described system and method. In particular,shown is step P1, wherein a user interacts with an issuer interface 106to pass at least one transaction identifier to the transaction serviceprovider 107 to request merchant communication session handles. At stepP1.1, at least one processor associated with the transaction serviceprovider 107, receives original transaction data based on the providedtransaction identifier. The transaction service provider 107 may be incommunication with a transaction service provider platform, which maycomprise one or more processors and one or more databases. At stepP1.1.1, the processor associated with the transaction service providerreceives the transaction details from the transaction service providerplatform. At step P1.2, the transaction details are passed to a merchantconnection evaluation process, to determine if at least one merchantcommunication session mapping is available. If there is not at least onemerchant communication session mapping available, the processor mayprovide feedback to the user that merchant communication is notsupported when proceeding with step P2, instead of communicatingmerchant communication session contexts. The user feedback may beactive, such as a pop-up message, alert, or notification. The userfeedback may also be passive, such as by not providing the user with anycommunication options. If there is at least one mapping available, theprocessor may proceed to create merchant communication session contextsat step P1.5. This mapping determination may be completed bycommunicating with a real-time mapping cache/database at step P1.3 basedon a look-up with the provided transaction identifiers. At step P1.5.1,the processor may cycle through each of the available mappings mediumsto receive mapping information from the real-time mapping cache/databaseat step P1.5.2 and generate the respective contexts. Generated contextsmay include any suitable communication mode that is text-based,image-based, audio-based, video-based, or any combination thereof.Although email and phone-related contexts are depicted, it will beappreciated that the same process steps may be completed for othercontexts, such as chat/messenger services, videotelephony services,and/or the like.

With further reference to the foregoing figures, and with furtherreference to FIG. 6, at step P1.5.3, for the medium of email, theprocessor creates a merchant communication email session. At stepP1.5.4, the processor generates the associated merchant communicationemail session context for transmission to the user. At step P1.5.5, forthe medium of a phone (or, more generally, a mobile device), theprocessor creates a merchant communication call/SMS session. At stepP1.5.6, the processor generates the associated merchant communicationcall/SMS session context for transmission to the user. At step P1.5.5,the merchant communication session may be enriched by the processor withtransaction data that may also be received from the transaction serviceprovider 107 platform. The processor may also record the merchantcommunication session attempt in a merchant communication sessiondatabase (e.g., a merchant data database 112), associating one or moremerchant communication sessions with the transaction identifier. Uponcompletion of generating the merchant communication sessions and theirrespective contexts, the processor may communicate the contexts (email,call/SMS, etc.) to the user at P2. It will be appreciated that otherconfigurations and arrangements are possible.

With further reference to the foregoing figures, and with specificreference to FIG. 7, provided is an exemplary and non-limitingembodiment of the above-described system and method. In particular,shown is a process for receiving a merchant communication email sessionrequest from a user, and acting thereon. At step P3.1, at least oneprocessor associated with the transaction service provider retrievesmerchant communication details, based on the requested communicationsession. The processor may be in communication with a merchantcommunication database to retrieve the merchant communication data atstep P3.1.1. At step P3.2, the processor processes the request data todetermine the connection type, and based on the type, to produce therequests merchant communication session. At step P3.3, based on theemail type, the processor generates and delivers an email communicationto the merchant. Also at step P3.3, the processor creates a uniqueidentifier for merchant follow-up with the user. As part of step P3.3,the processor is in communication with a merchant communication emailsession database, which may be the same database as the merchantcommunication database, and which may further be in communication withthe real-time mapping cache/database. At step P3.3.1, the processorretrieves the merchant communication corresponding to the request. Atstep P3.3.2, the processor retrieves a merchant contact email for thesession. At step P3.3.3, the processor composes an email to themerchant, populates the email with data (e.g., transaction data,communication template data, etc.), and sends the email to the merchant.At step P3.3.4, data concerning the merchant communication session arestored in the merchant communication database. At step P3.4, themerchant email communication is transmitted to the merchant. The emailmay be transmitted directly from the transaction service providerprocessor or redirected through the user or through a third partycommunication service provider. At step P3.5, a copy of the email may beforwarded to the user and/or the associated financial device holder forreference. A separate notification may also be generated in the merchantinterface to alert the merchant of receiving a new communication from auser. It will be appreciated that other configurations and arrangementsare possible.

With further reference to the foregoing figures, and with specificreference to FIG. 8, provided is an exemplary and non-limitingembodiment of the above-described system and method. In particular,provided is a process for facilitating a call/SMS communication sessionbetween a user and a merchant. At step P3.1, a user selects phone/SMS asa communication method with the merchant, and in so doing, triggers acallback from third party telecommunication providers. At least oneprocessor associated with the transaction service provider retrievescaller/callee information from the callback and routes the call asneeded. At step P3.2, the caller/callee details are processed to derivemerchant communication call/SMS session details at step P3.3, viacommunication with a merchant communication call session database. Atstep P3.3.1, merchant communication call session contexts are retrievedfrom the merchant communication call session database. At step P3.4, thedetermined merchant communication session is processed by the processorto facilitate a phone call, facilitate the SMS routing, forward the callby bridging, and/or mask the user contact number at step P3.5. At stepP3.6, the call/SMS interactions are mapped to a live merchantcommunication session by the processor. Also at step P3.6, transactioncontexts are loaded and a handle for the transaction in context isprovided to the merchant. This data determined at step P3.6 is providedin step P3.7, such that merchant communication session data can beprovided to the merchant interface in step P3.8.1. The merchantcommunication session and audit details are persisted in step P3.9 in amerchant communication database. It will be appreciated that otherconfigurations and arrangements are possible.

With further reference to the foregoing figures, and with specificreference to FIG. 9, provided is an exemplary and non-limitingembodiment of the above-described system and method. In particular,provided is a process for merchant communication session history look-upand usage for issuer institution dispute resolution. At step P5.1, anissuer institution request is received with at least a transactionidentifier and/or a financial device identifier. Also at step P5.1, theissuer institution's credentials are validated, as part of a securityprocess. If the credentials are invalid, the issuer institution requestis rejected at step P5.1.1. If the credentials are valid, the detailsare provided at step P5.1.2 for merchant communication session historylook-up. At least one processor associated with the transaction serviceprovider may be in communication with a merchant communication databaseto receive a merchant communication history at step P5.1.3. If amerchant communication history is not available, the processor maycommunicate the lack of history to the issuer institution at step P5.2.If a merchant communication session history is available, the processormay collect merchant communication sessions from said history and enrichthe data with original transaction data, merchant responses, and/or thelike in step P5.3. As a part of step P5.3, the processor may retrievemerchant communication sessions in step P5.3.1 from the merchantcommunication database, and the processor may retrieve originaltransaction data in step P5.3.2 from the transaction service providerplatform. The processor may communicate the merchant communication datato the issuer institution at step P5.4, and additionally merchantcommunication session data may be moved to a dispute resolution cycle instep P5.5 in the transaction service provider platform. It will beappreciated that other configurations and arrangements are possible.

With further reference to the foregoing figures, and with specificreference to FIG. 10, provided is an exemplary and non-limitingembodiment of the above-described system and method. In particular,provided is a process for merchants to receive transaction data for theactive merchant communication session. At step P4.1, at least oneprocessor associated with the transaction service provider receives areference ID from the active merchant communication session, such as anidentifier contained in an email communication, or a phone number beingused for a telephonic communication. Upon receiving the reference IDand/or additional credentials from the merchant, the processor validatesthe credentials. If the credentials are valid, the processor processesthe reference ID to look up merchant communication session data at stepP4.2. The processor may be in communication with a merchantcommunication session database to receive merchant communicationcall/email contexts. If the processor does not identify at least onemerchant communication session from the reference ID, the merchant isnotified at step P4.3 of the failed match. If the processor doesidentify at least one merchant communication session from the referenceID at step P4.4, the processor proceeds to collect merchantcommunication sessions and enrich the sessions with original transactioncontext, merchant responses, and/or the like in step P4.5. As a part ofstep P4.5, the processor may receive merchant communication sessionsfrom the merchant communication session database at step P4.5.1. Theprocessor may also receive original transaction data from thetransaction service provider platform at step P4.5.2. The enrichedtransaction context for the active merchant communication session maythen be provided to the merchant at step P4.6. It will be appreciatedthat other configurations and arrangements are possible.

With further reference to the foregoing figures, and with specificreference to FIG. 11, provided is an exemplary and non-limitingembodiment of the above-described system and method. In particular,provided is a merchant communication data object mapping configurationphase, as carried out between a merchant, a pass-through layer of anacquiring institution, and a transaction service provider. At step M1,the merchant provides its communication setup combinations, eachincluding a financial device acceptor identifier, a terminal identifier,an electronic commerce mail order telephone (ECMOTO) type, a merchantidentifier, and/or the like. At step M2, each combination is transmittedto a transaction service provider processor to determine if thecombination is an existing mapping or a new mapping, and at step M3, anew or existing merchant communication identifier is provided backthrough the pass-through layer, representing a merchant communicationdata object. At step M4, the merchant communication identifier isprovided back to the merchant. At step M5, the merchant then mayinitiate mapping contact data to the merchant communication data objectby transmitting contact data and the merchant communication identifierback through the pass-through layer to the transaction service provider.The contact data may include contact type, contact address, contactname, and/or the like. At step M6, the contact data and the merchantcommunication identifier are passed to the transaction service providerprocessor to attempt to map the contact data to the merchantcommunication data object. Whether the mapping was a success or afailure, that feedback is transmitted from the transaction serviceprovider at step M7, and it is provided to the merchant from thepass-through layer at step M8. It will be appreciated that otherconfigurations and arrangements are possible.

With further reference to the foregoing figures, and with specificreference to FIGS. 11 and 12, provided is an exemplary and non-limitingembodiment of the above-described system and method. In particular,provided is the process internal to the transaction service provider formerchant communication data object mapping, as occurring between stepsM2 and M3. At least one processor of the transaction service receivesthe merchant communication combinations, including device acceptor ID,terminal ID, ECMOTO type, merchant identifier, and/or the like. Themerchant's credentials are first validated, facilitated by communicationwith a real-time mapping cache/database. If the credentials arevalidated, the processor proceeds at step M2.1 to evaluate if themapping is new or not. If the mapping is not new, the merchantcommunication identifier associated with the existing mapping istransmitted from the transaction service provider at step M3. If themapping is new, the processor proceeds at step M2.3 to provision a newmerchant communication identifier, and the associated mapping is pushedto the real-time mapping cache/database at step M2.4. After a newmerchant communication identifier is provisioned, it is transmitted fromthe transaction service provider at step M3. It will be appreciated thatother configurations and arrangements are possible.

With further reference to the foregoing figures, and with specificreference to FIGS. 11 and 13, provided is an exemplary and non-limitingembodiment of the above-described system and method. In particular,provided is the process internal to the transaction service provider formerchant communication contact data mapping, as occurring between stepsM6 and M7. At step M6, at least one processor of the transaction serviceprovider receives a merchant communication identifier and contact data.The processor attempts to map the contact data, representing a method ofcontacting the merchant, to the merchant communication data objectrepresented by the merchant communication identifier. This process isevaluated by a contact method validator. If the mapping is successfullyverified, the mapping is created/updated at step M6.2 and stored in thereal-time mapping cache/database. The success or failure of mapping thecontact data to the merchant communication data object is thencommunicated from the transaction service provider processor at step M7.It will be appreciated that other configurations and arrangements arepossible.

Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose ofillustration based on what is currently considered to be the mostpractical and preferred and non-limiting embodiments, it is to beunderstood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that theinvention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on thecontrary, is intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangementsthat are within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Forexample, it is to be understood that the present invention contemplatesthat, to the extent possible, one or more features of any embodiment canbe combined with one or more features of any other embodiment.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method forfacilitating communication between a user of a financial account and amerchant associated with at least one transaction with the financialaccount, the method comprising: receiving, with at least one processor,transaction data representative of the at least one transaction betweenthe financial account and the merchant, the transaction data comprisingat least one transaction identifier; determining, with at least oneprocessor, the merchant associated with the at least one transactionidentifier; determining, with at least one processor, at least onemerchant communication mode associated with the merchant, the at leastone merchant communication mode representative of at least one of thefollowing types of communication: text, image, audio, video, or anycombination thereof; transmitting, with at least one processor, merchantcontact data to a user device of the user, the merchant contact dataconfigured to generate or cause the generation of at least one visualrepresentation of the at least one merchant communication mode on theuser device; receiving, with at least one processor, at least oneselected communication mode of the at least one merchant communicationmode; generating, with at least one processor, a merchant communicationsession associated with the at least one selected communication mode;and in response to receiving the at least one selected communicationmode, facilitating, with at least one processor, a communicativeconnection for the merchant communication session between the user andthe merchant through the at least one selected communication mode. 2.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprisingassociating, with at least one processor, a plurality of merchantcommunication sessions with the at least one transaction identifier. 3.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprisinggenerating, with at least one processor, a dispute resolution record inat least one database, the dispute resolution record comprising at leasta portion of the transaction data and the plurality of merchantcommunication sessions between the user and the merchant associated withthe at least one transaction identifier.
 4. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 3, further comprising transmitting, with at least oneprocessor, a list of the plurality of merchant communication sessionsand at least a portion of the transaction data to at least one of theuser, the merchant, and an issuer institution.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: modifying,with at least one processor, the merchant communication session tocomprise at least a portion of the transaction data of the transactionrepresented by the at least one transaction identifier, the transactiondata further comprising at least one of the following: financial deviceholder identification data, transaction amount, transaction time,transaction description, or any combination thereof; and transmitting,with at least one processor, at least a portion of the transaction datato at least one of the user device and a merchant device of themerchant.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein thecommunicative connection of the merchant communication session isgenerated in a network environment, such that only specified financialaccount data is transmitted to the merchant device and/or only specifiedmerchant data is transmitted to the user device.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the merchantcommunication session comprises audio communication data, the methodfurther comprising facilitating a telephonic connection between the userdevice and at least one communication device of the merchant.
 8. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the merchantcommunication session comprises text communication data, and wherein thegeneration of the communicative connection of the merchant communicationsession comprises automatically populating an email, messenger, chat, orSMS communication at least partly with transaction data and transmittingthe email, messenger, chat, or SMS communication to the merchant.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising receiving,with at least one processor, one or more designated merchantcommunication modes from the merchant, the one or more designatedmerchant communication modes representative of permitted communicationmodes and comprising a mapping of preferred contact data for eachdesignated communication mode, and wherein the at least one merchantcommunication mode is determined from the one or more designatedmerchant communication modes.
 10. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, further comprising: generating, with at least one processor, amerchant communication session identifier associated with the merchantcommunication session; transmitting, with at least one processor, themerchant communication session identifier to the user device upongeneration of the merchant communication session; and storing, with atleast one processor, the merchant communication session identifier inassociation with the at least one transaction identifier in at least onedatabase.
 11. A system for facilitating communication between a user ofa financial account and a merchant associated with at least onetransaction with the financial account, the system comprising at leastone server computer including at least one processor, the at least oneserver computer programmed and/or configured to: receive transactiondata representative of the at least one transaction between thefinancial account and the merchant, the transaction data comprising atleast one transaction identifier; determine the merchant associated withthe at least one transaction identifier; determine at least one merchantcommunication mode associated with the merchant, the at least onemerchant communication mode representative of at least one of thefollowing types of communication: text, image, audio, video, or anycombination thereof; transmit merchant contact data to a user device ofthe user, the merchant contact data configured to generate or cause thegeneration of at least one visual representation of the at least onemerchant communication mode on the user device; receive at least oneselected communication mode of the at least one merchant communicationmode; generate a merchant communication session associated with the atleast one selected communication mode; and in response to receiving theat least one selected communication mode, facilitate a communicativeconnection for the merchant communication session between the user andthe merchant through the at least one selected communication mode. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one server computer isfurther programmed and/or configured to: modify the merchantcommunication session to comprise at least a portion of the transactiondata of the transaction represented by the at least one transactionidentifier, the transaction data further comprising at least one of thefollowing: financial device holder identification data, transactionamount, transaction time, transaction description, or any combinationthereof; and transmit at least a portion of the transaction data to atleast one of the user device and a merchant device of the merchant. 13.The system of claim 12, wherein the communicative connection of themerchant communication session is generated in a network environment,such that only specified financial account data is transmitted to themerchant device and/or only specified merchant data is transmitted tothe user device.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least oneserver computer is further programmed and/or configured to receive oneor more designated merchant communication modes from the merchant, theone or more designated merchant communication modes representative ofpermitted communication modes and comprising a mapping of preferredcontact data for each designated communication mode, and wherein the atleast one merchant communication mode is determined from the one or moredesignated merchant communication modes.
 15. The system of claim 11,wherein the at least one server computer is further programmed and/orconfigured to: generate a merchant communication session identifierassociated with the merchant communication session; transmit themerchant communication session identifier to the user device upongeneration of the merchant communication session; and store the merchantcommunication session identifier in association with the at least onetransaction identifier in at least one database.
 16. A computer programproduct for facilitating communication between a user of a financialaccount and a merchant associated with at least one transaction with thefinancial account, comprising at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable medium including program instructions that, whenexecuted by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:receive transaction data representative of the at least one transactionbetween the financial account and the merchant, the transaction datacomprising at least one transaction identifier; determine the merchantassociated with the at least one transaction identifier; determine atleast one merchant communication mode associated with the merchant, theat least one merchant communication mode representative of at least oneof the following types of communication: text, image, audio, video, orany combination thereof; transmit merchant contact data to a user deviceof the user, the merchant contact data configured to generate or causethe generation of at least one visual representation of the at least onemerchant communication mode on the user device; receive at least oneselected communication mode of the at least one merchant communicationmode; generate a merchant communication session associated with the atleast one selected communication mode; and in response to receiving theat least one selected communication mode, facilitate a communicativeconnection for the merchant communication session between the user andthe merchant through the at least one selected communication mode. 17.The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the programinstructions further cause the at least one processor to: modify themerchant communication session to comprise at least a portion of thetransaction data of the transaction represented by the at least onetransaction identifier, the transaction data further comprising at leastone of the following: financial device holder identification data,transaction amount, transaction time, transaction description, or anycombination thereof; and transmit at least a portion of the transactiondata to at least one of the user device and a merchant device of themerchant.
 18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein thecommunicative connection of the merchant communication session isgenerated in a network environment, such that only specified financialaccount data is transmitted to the merchant device and/or only specifiedmerchant data is transmitted to the user device.
 19. The computerprogram product of claim 16, wherein the program instructions furthercause the at least one processor to receive one or more designatedmerchant communication modes from the merchant, the one or moredesignated merchant communication modes representative of permittedcommunication modes and comprising a mapping of preferred contact datafor each designated communication mode, and wherein the at least onemerchant communication mode is determined from the one or moredesignated merchant communication modes.
 20. The computer programproduct of claim 16, wherein the program instructions further cause theat least one processor to: generate a merchant communication sessionidentifier associated with the merchant communication session; transmitthe merchant communication session identifier to the user device upongeneration of the merchant communication session; and store the merchantcommunication session identifier in association with the at least onetransaction identifier in at least one database.